Monodispersed LiFePO4@C core–shell nanostructures for a high power Li-ion battery cathode

•Monodispersed LiFePO4 nanopillows were solvothermally synthesized with ethylene glycol.•LiFePO4@C core–shell nanostructures were prepared by a facile method in high yield.•LiFePO4@C core–shell nanostructures show nice capacity retention and high rate capacity.•A facile method was proposed simply to prepared fully carbon-coated LiFePO4 cathode.

In this paper, monodispersed LiFePO4 nanopillows have been successfully synthesized via solvothermal route with ethylene glycol (EG) as reaction medium. Subsequently, with the basis of the solvothermally synthesized monodispersed LiFePO4 nanopillows, monodispersed LiFePO4@C core–shell nanostructures are facilely prepared in high yield. Based on the experimental results, the formation mechanism of the monodispersed LiFePO4 nanopillows has been discussed simply. The monodispersed LiFePO4@C core–shell nanostructures exhibit nice capacity retention and high rate capacity due to the full carbon-coating and the well-crystallized nanosized particles.

Graphical abstractMonodispersed LiFePO4 nanopillows are solvothermally synthesized with ethylene glycol as solvent and subsequently bring about monodispersed LiFePO4@C core–shell nanostructures exhibiting high discharge capacity of 112 mAh g−1 at 30 C.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide